Pedestrians, cyclists among main road traffic crash victims

The first global assessment of road safety finds that almost half of the estimated
1.27 million people who die in road traffic crashes every year are pedestrians,
motorcyclists and cyclists. While progress has been made towards protecting
people in cars, the needs of these vulnerable groups of road users are not being
met.

The Global status report on road safety published today provides the first
worldwide analysis of how well countries are implementing a number of effective
road safety measures. These include limiting speed, reducing drink-driving,
and increasing the use of seatbelts, child restraints and motorcycle helmets.
Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the report presents information from 178
countries, accounting for over 98% of the world’s population. It uses
a standardized method that allows comparisons between countries to be made.

"We found that in many countries, the laws necessary to protect
people are either not in place or are not comprehensive. And even when there
is adequate legislation, most countries report that their enforcement is low,"
said WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. "We are not giving sufficient
attention to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists many of
whom end up in clinics and hospitals. We must do better if we are to halt
or reverse the rise in road traffic injuries, disability and deaths."

"Traffic crashes are a leading cause of death, particularly among
young people 5 to 44 years of age," said Mr Michael R. Bloomberg.
"For the first time, we have solid data to hold us accountable and to
target our efforts. Road safety must be part of all transport planning efforts,
particularly at this moment of focus on infrastructure improvements and road
building by many countries around the globe."

Road traffic death rates increasing

While road traffic death rates in many high-income countries have stabilized
or declined in recent decades, research suggests road deaths are increasing
in most regions of the world and that if trends continue unabated, they will
rise to an estimated 2.4 million a year by 2030. In addition, road crashes cause
between 20 million and 50 million non-fatal injuries every year and are an important
cause of disability. In many countries support services for road traffic victims
are inadequate. These avoidable injuries also overload already stretched health-care
systems in many countries.

The report documents numbers of registered motorized vehicles in each country
and action being taken to invest in public transport and encourage non-motorized
travel such as walking and cycling. Vehicle manufacturing standards and requirements
for road safety audits were also reported, as well as the existence of formal
pre-hospital care systems, including emergency telephone numbers.

Accurate statistics are crucial for understanding the state of road safety
and measuring the impact of efforts to improve it. The report found that underreporting
of deaths occurs in many countries, and that few countries have completely reliable
data on road traffic injuries. The highest death rates are seen in the Eastern
Mediterranean and African regions. The lowest rates are among high-income countries,
such as the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Other highlights of the report include:

* Less than a third of countries meet basic criteria for reducing speed in
urban areas.
* Less than half of countries use the recommended blood alcohol concentration
limit of 0.05 grams per decilitre as a measure to reduce drink-driving.
* While helmet laws exist in more than 90% of countries, only 40% have a law
that covers both riders and passengers while also requiring that helmets meet
a specified standard.
* Only 57% of countries have laws that require all car occupants to wear seat-belts.
This figure is only 38% in low-income countries.
* Half of all countries do not have laws requiring the use of child restraints
(e.g., child seats and booster seats). This figure masks considerable variation,
with relevant laws in 90% of high-income countries but only 20% of low-income
countries.
* Only 15% of countries have comprehensive laws which address all five of these
risk factors.
* Where laws on these risk factors are in place they are often inadequately
enforced, particularly in low-income countries. For example, only 9% of countries
rate their enforcement of speed limits as over 7 on a scale of 0 to 10, while
the corresponding figure for enforcement of seat-belt laws is 19%.

“More than 90% of the world’s road deaths occur in low-income
and middle-income countries, while these countries only have 48% of the world’s
vehicles,” said Dr Etienne Krug, Director of WHO’s Department
of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability. “Our roads are
particularly unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists who, without
the protective shell of a car around them, are more vulnerable. These road
users need to be given increased attention. Measures such as building sidewalks,
raised crossings and separate lanes for two wheelers; reducing drink-driving
and excessive speed; increasing the use of helmets and improving trauma care
are some of the interventions that could save hundreds of thousands of lives
every year."

The report also shows that road traffic injuries remain very relevant in high-income
countries.

“Even the top performers globally are often stagnating and still
have considerable room for improvement in achieving a truly safe road transport
system,” Dr Krug said.

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Ltd.. Material in this news item was released by the World Health Organization
(WHO) on 15 June 2009
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